ben’s photography

Ben Allsup often thinks of photography as his form of fishing. He says,

“The most enjoyable moment of the process for me is the moment after the shutter has snapped closed and I think I have it- the one, the next visual treasure.”

In the same way that some might keep a box of lures and dream of trying out that new one in a far away river or pond, Ben keeps cameras on shelves, dreaming of the day they might get taken down and dusted off to bring home “the big one.”

Inspired by documentary film-making, photojournalism, street photography, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ben believes in using his eye and equipment to capture “the decisive moment” in full frame images.

He aims to capture what he is looking for in that initial composition when he presses the shutter button. For that reason, his images rarely undergo post-processing in photo editing programs. He prefers not to crop, apply filters, layers or otherwise manipulate his images and says,

“To me, great photography is about capturing ordinary moments in a visually extraordinary manner.”

Ben would rather not categorize his work but his photography could be characterized by the fact that he is open to any subject matter. That said, he typically opts for environmental photography- people in their natural habitats and places as they are- as in the old Day in the Life photography books. You will see images of special events at benshotme, and ben is always happy to be invited to shoot particular happenings, but his work is motivated by the thrill he gets recording a moment as he sees it.

Ben is always pushing to see new things.

Has a fleeting moment in a cafe been captured? Does it, at first glance, look like a well-composed entire scene of activity- but upon closer inspection reveal the introspective stance of a waitress in a split-second of down time? Does a view along a seemingly stark alley feature far in the background corner a silhouetted figure skipping along? Are passing wingtips caught in front of a reflected image on a rear window of a vehicle, layered over the contents of the back dashboard? If you start to look for these attributes, for these carefully assembled, yet spontaneous compositions, you will begin to understand the images that are Ben’s favorites and glimpse a little into the mind of the photographer.

The photography at benshotme is a result of his passion for the art that comes through the experience of shooting.

Whether his images are created with one of his array of traditional film cameras or with his digital Leicas or Nikons, Ben chooses the equipment that will help him capture time and light in a way that will be treasured.

Ben continues to cast his net. Maybe the big one is still out there, but he is enjoying all the nibbles on the line and sharing his tales of the day.